Hello!

My name is Ally Bean and this is my personal blog, answering the question: "What up, Buttercup?" I'm here a few times a week-- unless, of course, I'm not. And yes, I wear eyeglasses. Spectacles, if you will.

I’m Doing This

Please Note

“I am not always good and noble. I am the hero of this story, but I have my off moments.”
~ P.G. Wodehouse, Love Among the Chickens

• Irregardless [sic] of your physical fitness, coordination or agility: If you could be an athlete what would you do? Remember this is SYW, dreaming is always allowed.

Oh, I could be a swimmer, I suppose. Meaning I’d have to have muscles and feel comfortable wearing a swimsuit in public and have eyes that aren’t irritated by chlorine and hair that doesn’t get frizzy near humidity. So, sure, if I must be an athlete, and all the previous conditions have been met, then I’ll happily be a swimmer.

• Optional Bonus Question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week’s gratitude award goes to the video below that demonstrates how to put an adhesive bandage on your finger so that it’ll cover the boo-boo and stay in place. I’m inspired by this video– and am almost looking forward to doing that which it shows me how to do. Who knew?

This week’s looking forward to something goes to the distinct possibility that our new washer and dryer will be installed in our newly updated laundry room. When that happens, we’ll have a working clothes dryer for the first time since April– and a better washing machine for the first time in years. *fingers crossed*

Once a week Cee asks the questions on her blog, and I answer them here on my blog. You can join in the Share Your World Challenge by clicking here.

• • •

• What is your favorite cheese?

Swiss. Cute holes, lovely color, mild taste.

• Are you left or right handed [sic]?

Right-handed, unless I’m using a computer mouse, then I’m left-handed.

• Do you prefer exercising your mind or your body? How frequently do you do either?

I prefer exercising my mind, but reluctantly admit that exercising my body can, on occasion, be ok, too. I exercise my mind and body often enough to not decline into complete decrepitude, but not often enough to be an inspiration to anyone. I get by, you know.

• Complete this sentence: Hot days are …

… a reason to remember that things can work out for the best. Once upon a time I thought that I wanted to live in southern Florida and was sad that we didn’t end up there. But now I’m happy that we stayed in the midwest because I only have to put up with humid 90ºF+ days, that I now find to be annoying, for a few months each year.

• Optional Bonus Question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week’s gratitude award goes to the Dr. Who franchise for picking a woman, Jodie Whittaker, to be the 13th Doctor. IT’S ABOUT TIME. We all need to see more female protagonists on the screen [and in real life, too]. I never enjoyed Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, the plot lines were too dark and twisted for me, so I stopped watching the show. But now, with a new female Doctor, I’m interested again.

This week’s looking forward to something goes to baking a cake. The details of which I’ll tell you about on my next post.

This week’s looking forward to something goes to nothing in particular. This is a slow time of year around here, too hot and humid to do much of anything. I’m not complaining, but for me it’s best to stay inside out of the sun, waiting for autumn– when there’s something fun to do all the time.

Once a week Cee asks the questions on her blog, and I answer them here on my blog.

• • •

• What goal are you working on now? Your goal can be something fun or extremely serious. Have fun with this question.

When have I not been working on a goal? However, here’s the thing: I have plenty of goals, but rarely share them because I’ve found that the minute I say that I’m going to do something the Universe laughs in my face. *bwha-ha-ha* So, if it’s all the same to you, my gentle readers, I think I’ll not answer this question with specifics.

• What is one thing you’re glad you tried but would never do again?

I will never sponge paint a wall again. I tried to do it, made a complete mess of the pattern, smudged the colors together– and ended up with an ugly muddle that needed to be painted over with a proper paint roller using one sensible color. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. But really, what was I thinking?

• Did you choose your profession or did it choose you?

I’ll let you know when my profession and I are formally introduced.

• Have you ever gotten lost?

Yes, I have– in just about every possible way: physical, emotional, spiritual. Often, in fact, without any idea of how to get un-lost. But I guess that I must have found my way, because here I am now writing a blog post.

• Optional Bonus Question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week’s gratitude award goes to cold brew coffee. I finally determined the proper proportion of coffee grounds to water to brew time to filtering system so that we both like what I made. And considering how hot it’s been around here, having some coffee concentrate in the refrigerator has led to some delicious iced coffee in the afternoon.

This week’s looking forward to something goes to the upcoming four-day 4th of July weekend. Pretty 🌻, pretty 🇺🇸, pretty 🎆. My kind of holiday. Not much to do but sit back and enjoy.

Once a week Cee asks the questions on her blog, and I answer them here on my blog. It’s a good thing, ‘ya know?

~ • ~

•What is something that people are obsessed with but you just don’t get the point of?

Basketball.

*yawn*

Here’s my take on it: a bunch of people, who call themselves a team and wear matching culottes, make a big deal about bouncing a ball while running to one end of a wooden court where they make squeaky noises with their shoes as they toss the ball among the team members. Eventually, someone attempts to throw the ball into an overhead small circular net.

Why? No one knows.

Then, the whole nonsensical show repeats at the other end of the court allowing the other team to do the same thing. And then it happens again.

Ad infinitum. 👎

• What quirky things do people do where you are from?

No one does this where I live now but…

I grew up in a small town where the word “mango” meant green pepper. Yep, no one called green peppers what they were, except my mother who knew that a mango was a tropical fruit, not a vegetable.

She never tried to correct anyone in town on this point, but she did make it clear to me that what everyone in this small town believed to be true, was in fact objectively false in the rest of the world.

It was a life lesson, I suppose, on the dangers of groupthink. And of putting the wrong ingredients into your recipes.

• What are some things you wish you could unlearn?

What it is like to be inside a MRI. All of them, any style. It’s a feeling too horrible for words.

• Who is someone that you miss having in your life?

I used to go to yoga classes at the wellness center in a local hospital. Carol, a RN, taught the classes.

These classes were the most safe and satisfying yoga experiences I ever had. However, Carol retired, the hospital closed the wellness center, and I’ve been left ever since trying to find [unsuccessfully] anyone as fun and centered as Carol was.

I miss Carol.

• Optional Bonus Question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week’s gratitude award goes to Fredrik Backman for writing the darkly humorous novel, A Man Called Ove. This book kept me entertained/distracted for hours so that the remodeling noise and the various people traipsing around inside our house did not bother me. No better review, eh?

This week’s looking forward to something goes to meeting some friends to go see a professional baseball game. We do this once a year and it’s always a good time, regardless of who wins the game.

Once a week Cee asks the questions on her blog. Then, when I get it together like this week, I answer the questions here on my blog.

~ • ~

• What do you do when you’re not working? If you are retired, what do you that is not part of your regular daytime routine?

I like to go to local festivals to see the people and enjoy the atmosphere. I like to go to parks to see the people and look at nature. I like to go to speciality grocery stores to see the people and buy the tasty goodies.

• What would you do if you won the lottery?

Probably not much of anything different from what I do now.

Maybe buy a new car [mine’s 14 years old]? Maybe go on vacation for longer than a week? Maybe give it all to the humane society, on the proviso that they never name a building or fund after me. That would be tacky.

The conceit that modern technology is making my life easier. It is not.

To wit, it’s making communication more immediate, but that’s not necessarily easier. It’s making cars and microwaves swankier, but that’s not necessarily easier. It’s making airport check-in and banking more self-directed, but that’s not necessarily easier.

Why? Because there are more steps + options now when it comes to doing anything. Everything. All the time.

Meaning that, in my opinion, modern technology adds an unasked for layer of complexity to my life that I then have to muddle through to get anything accomplished.

And it wears me out.

< end rant >

•Optional Bonus Question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week’s gratitude award goes to an early start to our home remodeling projects. We weren’t schedule to begin until late June/early July, but our projects got moved forward. Sure, it’s chaos around here, but I feel better, less anxious, now that we’re in process rather than waiting around for things to start.

This week’s looking forward to something goes to… well, honestly, I’m not looking forward to any one thing. No big weekend plans. No small weekend plans. I’m just kind of living in the moment right now… for the moment! 😉

Re: what I mentioned last week that I was looking forward to doing. On our deck we now have a small herb + vegetable garden with the usual suspects: [l to r] Italian Oregano, Rosemary, Husky Cherry Red Tomatoes, Cute Stuff Gold Peppers, and Sweet Mint.

~•~

• Wanting something to quench your thirst, what would you drink?

Water… or maybe Iced Tea. Of course what is Iced Tea but Water fancied up, so my final answer, Alex, is: what is water?

• Complete this sentence: Never In My Life Have I….

Wanted to go to the moon.

• If you could be given any gift what would it be?

Are we talking gift, like a present? Or are we talking gift, like a skill? Or a superpower? I need a bit of clarification here before I can gift the world with my answer. 😉

• What do you do if you can’t sleep at night? Do you count sheep, toss and turn, or get up and try to do something productive?

I’m a good sleeper, so I rarely deal with sleeplessness. But when I do, I lie in bed and compose blog posts in my head. This tends to put me back to sleep almost instantly. 🙂

• Optional Bonus Question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week’s gratitude award goes to the needy selfish people who caused me angst and trouble– which then lead me to remember one of my favorite hymns, It Is Well with My Soul. I share a beautiful rendition of this hymn, sung a cappella by Sisters, below. In the rotunda!

This week’s looking forward to something goes to having lunch with an articulate out-of-town friend who I’ve known for year and agrees with me that most of the people who we know are whacked. We’ll have much to talk about. Imagine that!